Process for making woolly fabrics of staple fiber



Patented July 29, 1941 PROCESS FOR MAKING WOOLLY FABRIC OF STAPLE FIBER Ernst Jacobsberg, Aachen, Germany No Drawing. Application May 20, 1937, Serial No. 143,852. In Germany November 30, 1936 2 Claims.

It is known that wool has the peculiar feature to felt, when in a wet state treated with alkali or acid substances.

Artificial fibers do not have this peculiarity. They can be shrunk by a treatment in a wet state with strong alkali substances such as caustic soda, butvby such treatment these fibers lose their strength and solidity and do not regain it after drying. Such artificial fibers never have the tendency to curl or to get crisp, which is a characteristic feature of wool and even if by some process such fibers in a loose state become curly or crisp, they easily lose this quality and become fiat and straight again. This is one of the reasons why up to now textile fabrics have not been made in such a way that they have an appearance and a character similar to fabrics made of wool, because such fabrics made altogether or substantially of wool are neither fiat straight nor tight but loose, woolly and curly, while fabrics made of artificial fibers or containing a substantial percentage of such fibers have a cotton-, linenor silklike appearance, touch and character.

I have found that a woolly textile fabric can be made of artificial fiber especially of staple fiber spun in a carded yarn way if such material is treated in a special new way. This special treatment if possible begins during the spinning processand is carried through during all the following processes, that is spooling, warping, weaving, washing, rinsing, fulling, dying, rying, flattening, pressing and any other process which might be necessary for making and finishing textile fabrics.

According to my invention during all these processes every avoidable stretching, pulling, tenterlng, squeezing, pressing and flattening of the fibers is strictly avoided and the more consistently this is carried through the more woolly become the fabrics. The woolly effect can be improved by altering the methods such as spinning, warping, weaving and finishing, which are practical for fabrics made of or containing much wool, in such a way that this new method allows the fibers to get entangled, hurry and shrunk and that, though they never really will felt, by this treatment show a feltlike character and will without becoming weak and breakable after drying show a woolly character which they will Preserve. In the first instance in order to avoid as much as possible any stretching during the weaving process, these fibers when being spun are greased more than the normal spinning process requires. Furthermore the warp is not sized and the weaving is done in such a loose way that neither warp nor weft is unnecessarily stretched. Inthisway,aloosefabricisproduced thatis more liable to creep together and entangle during an appropriate finishing process. than a fabric spun, warped and woven in the usual way. As to the finishing of such a loose fabric every treatment is avoided which works against the above principle. While woollen cloth is washed, rinsed, fulled and secured between heavy revolving rollers and pulled through narrow bridges, according to the new process, the fabric is not at all pulled nor squeezed between rollers, but on the contrary this fabric is not moved more than necessary and if possible is left in the dissolved soap without lifting it up, thus remaining unstretched and unsqueezed. In the same way the soap is washed out. The fulling process is done with stamping devices if not in a more primitive way by trodding or beating by means of tools worked by hand or foot. The fabric may directly after rinsing and cleaning be treated by an emulsion of impregnation substances which polymerize in heat and the drying is not done when spanning and stretching the cloth in all directions as is the custom with woollen goods but it is if possible guided on an endless net or cotton cloth or plane and thus carried through a drying machine or the hot dry air is sent through the fabric by force without moving it. In the same way the dying is done moving the piece as little as possible. When it comes to flattening and pressing, no'heavy hydraulic pressure nor any callenderlng is applied but the cloth is pressed in a. cautious way or is supported by an endless cotton or similar supporting plane or is sent over a steaming table, so that no pulling over works on the artificial fibers. It must be mentioned that for the good result according to my invention the washing and fulling process is carried out in a higher temperature than is usual with woollen fabrics i. e. at least at 40-50 centigrade.

Having now particularly described my invention and disclosed in what manner it can be performed, what I claim as my invention is:

l. A method for giving a woolly character, I

touch and appearance to a textile fabric containing a high percentage of artificial staple fiber, consisting in spinning the fibers in a highly greased condition, in converting the spun fibers into a woven fabric, and maintaining the fibers during such spinning and conversion in substantially an unstretched condition.

2. A method for giving a woolly character, touch and appearance to a textile fabric containing a high percentage of artificial fiber, consisting in spinning the fibers, in converting the spun fibers into a woven fabric, and maintaining the fibers during such conversion in substantially an unstretched condition by using an excess of greasing during the spinning a d convelmnl ERNS'I. JACOBSBERG. 

